A reader just asked us to identify a worm-like creature he has never seen before. Here is the description (with some minor edits) of the organism, “It was 12-13 inches long, thin, its head was shaped like a triangle pointed at the end, it was brown in color with a bright green stinger that was near its head and went in and out.” The reader couldn’t provide a photograph because the specimen escaped during the night. (The photo featured in this article is of a hammerhead worm that another reader sent us.)

Without a picture, it is tough to identify this organism, but we have some thoughts on the matter.

First, the size of this “worm” is notable, as well as the shape of its head. Both of these clues suggest that our reader has found a hammerhead worm. Hammerhead worms are flatworms that belong to the Geoplanidae, or land planarian, family. They can grow up to 20 inches long, and are usually found at night because they are nocturnal. Our reader didn’t include details of when or where he found this worm, so we can’t use those clues to assist us in our investigation.

Also, we aren’t sure what to make of the “bright green stinger that goes in and out.” We have never heard of a hammerhead worm with a stinger, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Maybe our reader has actually found a snake, which would be fitting due to the size and head shape. Perhaps what he believed to be a stinger was actually a green tongue? We do not know.

If any readers have ideas about this elusive creature, we invite them to comment on this post. If our reader is able to capture a photograph, we encourage him to share it with us so we can continue our investigation.

In summary, a reader wrote to us with a great description of a critter he discovered. Unfortunately, we were unable to come up with an identification, but we think this might be a hammerhead worm.

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